Presently, handheld devices are used to perform a myriad of tasks ranging from conducting phone calls and sending text messages to recording video, snapping pictures, and browsing the Internet. When using a handheld device, especially handheld devices comprising touch screens, a typical user often holds or grasps the handheld device in a variety of different ways depending on any number of factors (e.g. task being performed, hand availability, comfort, preference, etc.). For example, when composing a text message or an email, users often turn the device to a horizontal or landscape orientation and hold the device with two hands in order to use both thumbs to compose the message. However, when users only have a single available hand (e.g. standing and holding a cup of coffee in one hand), users often opt to hold the handheld device in a vertical or portrait orientation and compose the message with one thumb. To accommodate this behavior, current handheld devices rotate the display and in some cases modify the user interface based on whether the handheld device is in a vertical or horizontal position. While useful, adjusting the user interface based only on vertical or horizontal orientation is a crude tool that does not take into account whether a user is holding the device with one hand versus two hands or the type of one-handed or two-handed grasp that a user is employing. Consequently, present devices do not adjust the configuration of the user interface for the variety of holds or grasps that a user may employ while the handheld device is vertically oriented or the variety of holds or grasps that a user may employ when the handheld device is horizontally oriented.